7/30/2025

ASHLAND – Former Ashland Businessman Back In Court. Nathan Monkelien, 37, is appealing his life sentence for the October 2023, murders of Manuel and Luis Garcia Salas. Monkelien, former co-owner of the Stagecoach Bar & Grille where the shootings occurred, was sentenced in May to life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years. His attorneys claim self-defense, asserting Monkelien feared for his life when confronted by the victims, one of whom had a boxcutter. A video shows Monkelien retreating with a crowbar before shots were fired off-camera. Records show Luis was shot three times and Manuel six times. Monkelien was found guilty on January 30 after a two-week trial. He is serving his sentence at Jackson Correctional Institute, with additional concurrent sentences for intentional homicide, firearm intoxication, and resisting arrest, plus a consecutive nine-month battery sentence.